A typical lever type electrical connector assembly includes a first connector which has an actuating lever rotatably mounted thereon for connecting and disconnecting the connector with a complementary mating second connector. The actuating lever and the second connector typically have a cam groove/cam follower arrangement for drawing the second connector into mating condition with the first connector in response to rotation of the lever.
A common structure for a lever type electrical connector of the character described above is to provide a generally U-shaped lever structure having a pair of lever arms which are disposed on opposite sides of the first ("actuator") connector. The lever arms may have cam grooves for engaging cam follower projections or posts on opposite sides of the second ("mating") connector.
Such lever type connectors often are used where large forces are required to mate and unmate a pair of connectors. For instance, terminal and housing frictional forces encountered during connecting and disconnecting the connectors may make the process difficult to perform by hand. The present invention is directed to solving various problems with such connectors, including providing means for protecting the lever system from damage or breakage. In particular, if the actuating lever is not in a properly aligned "preload" position, attempts to forcibly mate the connectors can cause damage or breakage to the lever or other operative components. The present invention provides a system for latching the actuating lever is a preload position to ensure that the cam grooves and cam follower projections are properly aligned. The latch means prevents the actuating lever from being disengaged during shipping and handling, and the lever is automatically unlatched upon mating of the connectors.